The Tireless Wanderer
by Nick Secker
Summary: Ryu seeks revenge after the tragic events of his training in Japan.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or origins of characters. Belong to Capcom._

-

Feet rushed frantically in the night across the thick vegetation of the forest floor. Creatures of the night watched down from the trees, afraid to investigate the dark figure. The hooting of owls and chirping of crickets, silenced as the figure dashed past. The snapping of plants and sticks under its feet echoed through the woods. A dim red eye broke the darkness, appearing behind the figure. The eye stalked around the figure leaving a trail of red like a paint stroke. The dark figure was the size of a young boy. He stopped and panted frantically, catching his breath. He looked behind him with his deep blue eyes noticing the blood red ones pursuing him. His skin went pale, he thought he had lost him.

"What does he want from me?" he whispered to himself.

The eye came closer. The boy wiped the sweat from under his chestnut brown hair and set out again. His stalker was toying with him he thought and he feared for when he got bored. He ran swiftly, his dirty white dogi being torn by the claws of branches from trees. Then suddenly there was a rip in the darkness, a dim light from the stars. The boy stepped up his speed running with everything he had. The light came closer and closer, he could feel the cold breeze of night blowing gently on his face. Then there was darkness in front of him. Towering over him was a giant of a man, two red demonic eyes staring down at him.

"Enough games Ryu!" said the red eyed man. "My brother began your training and I will finish it."

Ryu was frozen, gazing into the hellish fires of the man's eyes. Even as a boy nothing in Ryu's life had scared him. He considered fear as a weakness and stood bravely against anything that opposed him. But this man was different, his sheer presence put Ryu in a cold sweat.

"Prepare yourself..."

A cold breeze brushed past them both. The red eyes looked around the forest.

"...to Die One Thousand Deaths!"

The demonic man dashed away from Ryu, towards the exit of the forest. Standing there was another giant man. Darkness engulfed the area. Sparks of blood red jolted around the entrance. Tree's exploded and fragments of woods flew in all directions. Ryu watched in awe. Smoke started to rise from the remains of the battle. Ryu peered into the fog hoping his pursuer was gone.

"Master?" Ryu whispered.

Out from the smoke came a white bearded man with a bleeding forehead. Ryu bowed with respect.

"Master Gouken! I'm so glad you're here!"

Gouken smiled slightly then looked behind him.

"We must make haste before he regains conciousness," he replied.

Ryu nodded. He felt relieved that the stranger had been beaten by his master but he knew this wasn't the last he'd see of him.

***

Ryu waited patiently at the entrance of the dojo. The dojo was located up a small mountain near the forest where Ryu had been pursued several weeks ago. The mountain air was thick and relentless but to Ryu it was nothing. Training in this environment had made his lungs strong and the harsh climates would no longer hinder his abilities. Ryu sat on the wooden steps leading to the main door. He knew Master Gouken was inside meditating and today was a special day. He had been told he would taught to defend himself against a great evil. It had crossed his mind he might be referring to the man from the forest. He gazed out at the land below him. The sun had just risen casting a light orange glow across the lands. The doors on the dojo slid open. Gouken stood with his arms crossed.

"Come."

Ryu got up and entered the dojo.

Gouken stood in front of Ryu with his eyes closed deep in thought. Ryu waited with patience for his lesson. Gouken scratched his beard.

"Today I will teach you to defend yourself against the forces of darkness."

Ryu wanted to ask about these forces but from living and training with Gouken he had learned great patience.

"The man who pursued you in the forest was my brother. His name is Gouki but these days he goes by the name Akuma."

Ryu didn't know he had any family. One of the things he felt he could relate to with Gouken is that they were both alone. Ryu didn't know any of his family and Gouken never spoke of his. No visitors or relatives came to see Gouken.

"Why did he come after me?"

"You are a good student Ryu. From monitoring your progress I can proudly say you will even surpass myself."

Gouken's face became uneasy. Gouken was a big man, his body a finely tuned weapon. His facial and physical features made him seem like a man who could never be rattled or shaken up.

"Akuma has been watching us train. I know because I can feel his very presence. He sees the potential in you and wants to convert you to follow his art of fighting..." he paused for a moment.

"Satsui no Hadou. The origin of our fighting style."

Ryu remembered the attack Akuma had done on Gouken in the forest... its awesome power.

"What I am going to tell you next is important... Akuma will come for me and he will kill me."

Ryu's eyes widened with horror and pain.

"Focus Ryu. Today I will teach you a move. This move will help you fight away the darkness, the Satsui no Hadou."

Gouken rested his hand on Ryu's shoulder and gave him a stern look.

"Today I will teach you the Shin Shoryuken."

Ryu spent that day watching and learning. He put his masters words to the back of his head while he trained. Gouken was different in this lesson, he revealed a more loving and caring side that he never showed during training. This told Ryu that Gouken was deadly serious about his brother coming for him.

***

Sweat splashed off Ryu's gloves as he blocked the roundhouse kick. Ken was on fire today and his fists and kicks came out swift and hard. Ryu could only just keep up with him blocking and parrying the flurry of blows from the blonde warrior.

"Keep your focus man!" Ken taunted.

The hurricane kick came in fast, Ryu barely blocked it. As Ken was landing Ryu took this opportunity to grab him but Ken reacted fast and smacked his arms out of the way. Ken lunged forward with a sharp kick to the gut. Ryu fell back on his behind.

"You're not with it today bro," said Ken as he reached his hand out to help him up. Ken was right, Ryu didn't feel like himself. He felt uneasy today perhaps he was sick he thought.

"I know, I'm sorry."

Ken helped him on his feet and gave him a pat on the back. It was eleven years ago when they first met. Ryu had liked it when it was just Gouken and himself. When Ken showed up he wasn't thrilled with the idea of sharing his master. Regardless another kid the same age was a blessing. They became good friends, sparring partners and rivals.

A shower of rain came down on the pair, their dogi soaking up the water fast. They had been sparring just below the dojo.

"Lets go back up," said Ken.

The two of them climbed the mountain with ease but Ryu struggled a bit. He still felt uneasy and since he couldn't climb the hill as well as he usually did he put it down to illness.

They reached the top of the mountain and the dojo was in ruins. It looked as if a hurricane had hit it. Ken rushed to the stairs, there were blooded sandal prints leading down them.

"What happened here?" asked Ryu looking very concerned.

Suddenly it hit him like a bullet train. He wasn't ill, he knew this feeling! He had this feeling twelve years ago when he was down in the forest that night. He suspected the worst and ran straight past Ken.

"Master Gouken!" he screamed.

Resting against the back wall was Gouken. He was sat in a pool of blood covered in marks and bruises. Above him was a symbol written in his blood. It was the kanji for heaven 天. Ryu dropped to his knees, Ken rushed in behind him his face full of pain and of shock. Ryu clenched his fist tightly trying to summon up the courage to suppress his emotions.

"Who did this?" demanded Ken.

"Akuma," Ryu instantly responded.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or origins of characters. Belong to Capcom._

_-_

Chapter 1 – Kung Food

Ryu sat on the plane staring out of his window. Economy class wasn't comfortable but his mind was wandering. He thought about the dreaded kanji above his masters body and the burning flame within Akuma's eyes. A burp echoed through the plane disturbing Ryu's daydreaming. Sat next too him, filling two seats, was a large round man, his fat bouncing to the gentle rhythm of the planes movement. He chomped, slurped and belched through five helpings of the chef's finest flight meals. While shovelling the remains off one dish down his neck his lone blonde pig tail bounced into the sauce. He didn't seem to care. The man's long handle bar moustache was covered in a variety of foods and sauces. "Glutton" came to Ryu's mind and he closed his eyes.

"You gonna eat that buddy?" asked the round man.

His eyes glowed eagerly since the food had been barely touched. Ryu sighed.

"You may..."

The food was snatched before he could even finish his response. Seconds later the man let his belly escape from his bright green tracksuit, smiling satisfied as he picked at his teeth with a toothpick. Disgusted, the waitress took the plates away.

"You know buddy, you're aright you know that? I've been on planes before but you're the first guy to willingly offer his meal to me. Some clowns would rather see it wasted than me putting it to good use."

Ryu let out a second sigh, he didn't feel that sociable right now.

"I'm kinda tired..."

"This one time me and my girlfriend, her names Candy by the way. We took a flight to Brazil and the service was dreadful!" he nattered on.

Ryu switched to auto-pilot and nodded to his every word.

***

Ryu and the fat man walked together through the airport. Ryu moved fast to escape the wrath of his conversation but he kept up without breaking a sweat.

"I'm not one to judge when it comes to eating but wasting food is just wrong. I got kicked out of a restaurant for taking peoples left overs. We live in a crazy world when..."

Standing at the exit was a ginger haired beauty in a pink summer dress and hat. Her face boiled with anger and she cast a sharp glare at Ryu and the fat man. For the first time he had stopped talking, Ryu almost jumped with joy.

"Rufus!" yelled the girl, it echoed through the airport grabbing the attention of everyone around them.

Dread swept across Rufus's face. Ryu turned to him and noticed he was shivering, who was this women he thought?

"You totally lied to me!" she screamed.

"Candy, baby, I couldn't find him. I looked everywhere but he was no where I promise you, would I lie? Come on baby..."

"You're just a phony! I'm keeping my promise and we're totally not together any more." she then stormed off.

Ryu looked over to Rufus, tears slowly forming around his eyes. He wasn't sure what was going on but saw this as a good opportunity to not get involved and get away.

"Look Rufus I'm sorry but I really have to..."

"I knew I could count on you buddy. We need to win her back!"

"We... Wait..." Ryu was cut short.

"In order to get her back we must find Ken Masters!"

Ryu raised his eyebrow, he wants to fight Ken? Ryu came to the U.S to meet up with Ken to discuss looking for Akuma. He figured Rufus came looking for Ken during the time of the incident at the dojo. Ryu tried to contact Ken after he arrived back in America but couldn't get a hold of him. Ryu started to walk off and then heard a whelping sound from behind him. He turned around to see Rufus, puppy dog eyed with his low lip sticking out. Ryu turned back around and took a few steps forward, the whelping got louder. He let out a sigh then headed back to Rufus.

"Look, I'll make you a deal. I'm here to find Ken too. I'll take you to Ken, let me and him have our meeting and then you can challenge him."

Rufus squealed with joy and grabbed Ryu, giving him a big hug.

"Thanks man I knew I could count on you!" he cried, hugging with all his might.

"My... back... stop... please... pain..."

***

Ryu and Rufus entered a small office building, it was brand new, builders and contractors were still doing work there. Ryu went up to a small reception desk in the center of the main hall, sat at the desk was an attractive young secretary. She glanced up at Ryu and welcomed him with a warm smile, then Rufus towered behind Ryu casting a shadow of the women's face, her smile slowly dissolved into a disgusted look.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see Ken. He's expecting me."

"I'm sorry sir but Ken has gone to India and has not informed us on when he'll return."

India? Ryu thought to himself.

"Did he tell you why he was going?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry sir but he has not given me any information."

Rufus pushed Ryu out of the way and slammed his hands on the desk in rage.

"Bring him to me now! I need my Candy back!" he roared.

Ryu put his had on his shoulder.

"Easy now, we'll think of something."

Rufus slapped Ryu's hand away and banged his hands on the desk again, frightening the secretary.

"You said he'd be here! How could you lie to me?"

He turned to face Ryu, his face consumed by anger.

"You're scaring people, calm yourself." Ryu said dropping his bag to the ground.

"You calm down!" he yelled.

Rufus went to push Ryu away but he was too slow. Ryu grabbed his arms and flipped him over his shoulders, Rufus's butt hit the ground, the impact rattling nearby furniture. Rufus exploded with rage and started lashing out at incredible speed with his fists. The jabs came in at an unexpectedly fast rate and hit Ryu several times before he could start blocking. Rufus didn't slow down, he then came in with a messiah kick. Ryu dashed back avoiding the onslaught of kicks then suddenly he did a back flip kick hitting Ryu on the chin. Ryu was completely confused by this man's speed! He was huge! He didn't have time to be questioning his capabilities since he'd already displayed them. Rufus suddenly leaped into the air and came crashing down with a sharp dive kick, Ryu was ready this time. He rolled backwards, the dive kick hit the floor landing just in front of Ryu. Ryu assaulted Rufus with fast jabs and kicks putting him on the defensive. Rufus blocked everything and saw Ryu was going for a heavier punch, he presented his stomach and Ryu's fist landed in a pool of flesh. Rufus didn't even flinch and delivered a palm strike to Ryu sending him soaring through the air. Ryu landed on his feet and looked up to see Rufus above him again, coming down with the dive kick. No more games, Ryu thought. Ryu leaped up below him catching his stomach with a fierce Shoryuken, Rufus went up into the air again. Ryu dashed forward and changed his stance.

"Metsu..." he muttered as his hand lit up with a swirling ball of violet energy. "Hadouken!"

He launched the fireball and it caught Rufus in mid air, exploding into his stomach creating a violent rippling effect from the impact. Rufus was lunged backwards and straight to the floor.

"What... the... hell... you fight like him, Ken Masters."

Ryu stood in his fighting stance awaiting the next attack. Not many got up from his Metsu Hadouken but Rufus wasn't just anybody. Rufus scraped himself off the floor and back on his feet.

"You fight like Ken, you never told me this! I thought we were pals?" accused Rufus.

"Since when did pals launch attacks on each other?"

Rufus had calmed down and slowly walked towards Ryu.

"I'm sorry buddy I lost my temper, I really want my Candy back, she rocks my world!"

Suddenly a spark came in Rufus's eyes, a light bulb in his head switched on. He stared at Ryu with a creepy smile and eyed him up and down.

"I have an idea!"

***

Ryu came out of the changing room scoring a red gi, a blonde wig and a pear of sunglasses. Rufus clapped in excitement.

"You look the part man!"

Ryu didn't like the idea but he couldn't escape this man without helping him.

"I've called Candy, we'll be fighting outside her place. She wants her family and friends to see me defeat you, its gonna be greatest match ever fought!"

"In other words I let you win," Ryu said bluntly.

Rufus's flustered up with embarrassment and he turned away.

"Yeah... I suppose so."

***

Candy and a crowd of other people stood in the front garden of her little house. Some cheered for Rufus, others cheered for Ken. Rufus came from west end of the street, heroically storming down the road absorbing all the cheers. From the east end came Ryu, disguised as Ken walking slowly toward Rufus. Candy picked up a megaphone from behind her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls this is gonna be totally cool!"

The crowd roared with excitement, Ryu felt embarrassed.

"We all know Rufus, the greatest fighter of all time!"

The crowd started a slow chant of "Rufus!", Rufus flexed his flab.

"He will be defeating unworthy US champion..." she coughed "Ken..."

A small section of the crowd gave a quiet clap, Ryu shook his head.

"Who will come out on top folks? Get ready... FIGHT!" she yelled.

Rufus stopped crowd pleasing and went into his fighting stance. Ryu and Ken shared the same fighting stance so he didn't need to change anything about the way he'd fight.

"You've fought the rest, now face the best!" Rufus taunted.

-

_Haven't had time to finish this chapter so I'll release it in parts. Keep reading :)_


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